Citadel Contrast vs. Vallejo Xpress Color vs. Speedpaint 2.0!!!! Featuring

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In this video I give you a brief history of contrast paints, army painter speedpaints, and vallejo xpress paints as well as my thoughts on each one and comparing them!
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MUSIC:
Stevia Sphere - "Elevator 11"
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Stevia Sphere - "New Age Website"
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glaciære - “Confidence, Baby"
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glaciære - “Sinking your toes into warm sand”
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Stevia Sphere - "Elevator 10"
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glaciære - “Salt Water"
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glaciære - “Hot Chocolate"
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glaciære - “Pool Water Dripping from the Diving Board”
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All music used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) License
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[@nathanielschleif]

Thanks for the breakdown! You've mentioned off hand hand that you use contrast for non metallic metal; would love to see a breakdown of that!

[@DanaHowl]

Good idea!!! I’ll add it to the list!!! Thanks!!!

[@Bishop0151]

Vallejo Xpress has been expanded to 60 colours, with 8 being a core of the more intense colours that have a greater pigment density. Including a darker "true" black, this was apparently to address the request for more saturated colours. They are available in the UK now. Apparently most of the range was deliberately left with less intense colours so that users could build intensity with layers, according to Angel Geraldez who worked with them. So it is supposedly not a bug, but a feature. If you know that going into your purchasing choice it may help people to decide. It seemed to be poorly advertised. But then perhaps Vallejo wasn't committed with the initial limited offering. Personally I'm hoping that Santa will brig me some Xpress colours. Thanks for the comparison

[@theblackantonio]

I love how you are one of the very, VERY few artists to pronounce Vallejo correctly

[@Bluecho4]

^This

[@nbell63]

Bă'yay'ho? Haven't heard anyone do it, yet. 😊

[@trisbane4086]

The way she says it is "Vee yay ho" in what world is that the correct pronunciation? Also the way she pronounces it is too American. At least she doesn't say va lay joe, I guess.

[@alternate3787]

What I do like about the Vallejo Express Color (and my reason for chosing them) is that they can easily be deluted with water or any medium. That makes them more easy to wrok with and more versatile for me. Plus they have a longer working time than Contrast paints (the only other brand of these paints I have at hand). Hope you get to try out the range expansion in canada soon

[@tragonius]

gread video once again, Dana - you were a big part of getting me back into mini painting with your speedpaint slapchop videos, and its really nice to see all 3 lines one next to the other like that. excited to see those minis in the campaign!

[@thesaltyseagames]

Even though I lived through all the releases, and even bought paints within the first months of each, I still found myself rapt during the 1st half of the vid. You're really good at storytime. (Loved the main section late too, just was really impressed at how engaging u were able to make a simple recap)

[@briochie]

I saw my mini! :3 Can't wait to see him painted! Speedpaints were on sale today on Amazon, and I was finally convinced to order a set of the 2.0 range. Very excited!

[@kasparbaktat964]

What a coincidence... my YT search history today was dominated by comparison videos about those paints... and at the and of the day (for me) you publish one on that topic as well. It was very helpful and very welcome!

[@s7r49]

I think speedpaints are a fantastic product and I don't regret buying the full line but I actually go a little crazy with the drying speed of speedpaints too, but I've started just doing oil washes over them recently instead of trying to blend and I'm having better results with that. I might actually just fully switch to oil eventually to be honest, I've always prefered oil on canvas IDK why I just accepted acrylic was the way just because everyone uses it. although its kind of nice to lay down some base colors with a zenithal and speedpaints and oil paint over them too. I definitely have been finding the speedpaints look better on a very dark brown or very dark purple shadow than on black shadows too.

[@greglohman6750]

I agree I'm zeroing in on a speedpaint workflow that is solid base in brown or purple, zenith white, speedpaint, gloss seal, oil wash, matte seal.

[@pbkobold]

A few drops of retarder or the xpress paint medium is a nice way to slow down speedpaint drying. The xpress medium + contrast or speedpaint is better than the xpress paints themselves in a lot of cases.

[@s7r49]

​@greglohman6750 that's exactly what I've been moving towards!

[@s7r49]

​@pbkobold I've played with it some but I still sometimes end up where it doesn't exactly dry but it gets clotty and drags around weirdly. Depends on the color though

[@mrgunn2726]

Great video Ms. Dana, thanks for sharing.

[@senorcaruso8711]

Finally! I have been waiting for your review of the Xpress range

[@Wijkert]

Comparison video's are always welcome! I have tried GSW dipping inks recently and found they compare very well to the contrast paints.

[@NonSleeper_Occasional_Thinker]

WOOOOOO HOOOOOO I saw my designed mini get painted!!!! Thanks Dana!!!!! Awesome Comparison.

[@elliotlancaster7323]

More Vallejo Xpress Colour test please! Vallejo is my fav brand and was excited when I realised they were stepping into the market. Great work as always!

[@vbosch55]

Great video. Thanks for the comparison! These paints have made teaching my kids to paint so much easier.

[@redcossack3943]

Thanks for the comparison. I haven't had a chance to try the Xpress Color yet (my local shop doesn't stock, and can't find anything online except single bottles). These technical videos are something I really love to see from content creators.

[@NossCalavera1670]

Great video, Dana. Subscribed

[@lilpain1997]

have the entire line of vallejo xpress and all their other colours like a 10 min walk away from me. Picked up a few colours and so far on my tests they are great, just wish they had more colours like army painters speedpaints, so I will be getting the speedpaints as well

[@peterbacon50]

Keep up the good work I am learning a lot from your video's they are just good to watch

[@Evie96]

Dana I love your videos!

[@southpaw5483]

Thank you for sharing.

[@travelminipainter]

Hi Dana, Nice comparison. Just as an addendum. The Vallejo XPress paint line has been extended in September 2023, and there is a total of 59 colours now, so just one less than contrast paint.

[@markgnepper5636]

Great stuff friend 👏 👍

[@erickr404]

It would be great to see a video with some extra touches after an initial speed/contrast paint layer, like highlighting with normal acrylics

[@killinusoftly7744]

love army painter with a vellejo as my highlight colors

[@Trizface]

The new wave of Vallejo xpress is out here in Australia. Just got mine, i didn't get the entire new line because its HUGE but they have some really great colours in there and some "new" paints too with the "intense" express subline (basically just more vibrant and more opaque, so less like a glaze).

[@frandeastora2128]

I started painting minis again after several years and discovering this kind of this single coat paints was like discovering the moon. I was thinking a lot about which one to start with, but here in Spain Vallejo is very easy to find and there's a store where they have a permanent 3x2, so it is difficult for me to buy anything else when I can have 3 bottles for 6 euros.

[@jamesshearer3936]

I like both Speedpaint and Contrast Paint. But I also find myself using them as thinners for other acrylic paints and (thinned way down) as washes. Also some especially the Contrast line, are thick enough to just use as opaques (Cygor brown is just properly thinned Rinox Hide).

[@nozhki-busha]

Honestly, I have the original V1 speedpaints and I think they are ok even if they reactivate. I dont paint minis entirely using speedpaint though, I typically use them to paint large areas on minis such as fur, cloaks, and monster skin, then I use traditional paints to paint the smaller areas, highlights, and details. They do save me time and I will likely get the V2 mega set soon.

[@gregsdronefootage3298]

I bought 2 bottles of the Vallejo Xpress Colour, not realizing what it was. Haven't opened them yet. Now that I realize what they are, I will be going back to Hobby House and picking up more colours!

[@jblade8028]

xpress colour released an expansion 3 days ago. Check Juan Hildago's video on the intense colours, they are a game changer. Maybe make an update on this video in January when you get your hands on the Vallejo expansion.

[@MartinPittBradley]

Yellow over dark doesn’t appear to ever work, and boy does speed paint mess up faces! I love when you test a ton of paints in one vid!

[@sebastianwei7721]

I don’t care which color is the best, only here to see the beautiful minis 😊

[@cronkitepercussion]

Yay Canada!

[@JohnVanderbeck]

I don't know if maybe these paints are NOT recommended for larger figurines, but I was painting my first last night (making holiday gifts) so I'm still learning. But I was using Speedpaint 2.0 and had a lot of problem getting it down "smooth". Almost all my sections dried in a very patchy way. Meaning yeah there was shading in the recesses, but also shading in the high areas randomly. The face of my Grogu looks like a diseased piebald. I'm going to have to re-prime and try again.

[@qmoor]

What are your thoughts on Green Stuff World dipping inks?

[@kajn3206]

I have speed paint 1.0, it depends on when the reactivation is a problem, sometimes it's a solution if I really don't want it, so at least 24 hours off, then they already lasted

[@michaciemniewski9791]

I have used all 3 brands and for me AP Speedpaints 2.0 are #1. I still use what I have left of Contrasts and Xpress but SP2.0 are most consistent for me. They all have the same density so they are easier to apply than Contrasts. They are cheaper too. I treat them more like a technical paints as they are great for glazing and washing. They work great over zenital too but I rarely paint for speed so this is not the way I use them the most. SP2.0 have great pigmentation and colour range. Those pastels...! About pots Citadel paints are in... 1. They dry FAST so You waste a lot of Your paints (there was only 1 bottle of Citadel paint I had that did not dry out! ONE and only because I was using it for basing). 2. You can drop the right amount of paint out of AP/X bottles. I do that and I waste almost no paint. 3. even if we waste some of the paint we still pay 60-65% of the Citadel bottle cost for an SP2.0 paint (both are 18ml).

[@Sudo_Nimh]

What are those little boxes that you have them in?

[@saveversus]

I have a few Contrast Paints and mostly Speed Paints. I prefer Speed because they seems to have better saturation. The Contrasts I have look pale.

[@MrNavidad]

The Vallejo colors are difficult to get here in Vegas. No local shop has em or they have a very few

[@Annies_mini_marvels]

I spy a very familiar fighter in that set, all the hero forge characters are so cool! Do you have a favourite paint from across all three ranges?

[@Grigory-Rasputnik]

Regarding the size of Xpress Colors line - they are currently expanding it and i think that samples are already available in Spain

[@Grigory-Rasputnik]

Oh, you did mention that. Sorry 😅

[@misterzealous8696]

Would you say one of those desaturated browns they were missing is pale sand?

[@DanaHowl]

I might say that!!!!

[@sweatilaa5325]

I prefer Xpress or Speedpaints since they are more consistent and reliable in their behavior, with Contrast there is quite a variety of how they paint behaves. Some work like a dream, some don't seem to do the contrasting properly, some are really goopy, and then there are Contrast paints that should just be labeled as a wash.

[@c0ffeefreek]

What magenta did you use for the mid tone?

[@brendanarmstrong7802]

8:38 - Personally, I actively like mixing paints, but I don't mind forgoing it if it means I get to buy more paints.

[@howardcoates6985]

Not sure where in Canada you live Dana, but gw contrast are $9.40 here plus taxes

[@Zichius69]

Hi Dana, hi all. I have a big question: which non can primer for SP2.0 ? I tried a lot of different brands with no luck, all cracked out 😢.

[@OldManb1981]

I heard if you use white ink over your model that Speed paints will crack so don’t use ink on your model? Have you tried airbrush primer?

[@Zichius69]

​@jamiebodchon8629 Hi Jamie, never used inks, airbrush non can primer all cracked...Vallejo, even AP airbrush primer, no luck. The only primer that work is the AK, but omg is really toxic 😅.

[@john9801]

I don't have the paints yet but plan to get them. This most likely happens when the paint pools and dries too quickly. Causes could be a low humidity and or too much paint applied. Those are just guesses as I have no experience with the paint yet. As you said the AK works but as you said it's not the healthiest (I think it's enamel based). Stynylrez could be one to try. Also one of the more expensive ones though I think.

[@joshbecka6110]

Hey that is me!

[@lamMeTV]

I only watched the ad and will watch the rest later LMAO

[@jasonrodney2305]

More Vallejo Express Color

[@mikey_vengenz]

Wait how could you forget scale75's instant paint line? 😂

[@Wijkert]

09:10 curious, why would it be impressive to have rich and saturated colors in a small paint line? I would argue the smaller the paint line, the less blends, the more rich and saturated colors. An extreme example is the first Kimera Kolors basic set of paints.

[@noodles2459]

I would love to see a review of GOLDENS new HIGH FLOW paints I've used the purple and it acts somewhat like a ink or contrast paint.

[@benweinberg3819]

Did they release new ones lately? The high flow line has been around for a bit, love using them through my airbrush

[@noodles2459]

@@benweinberg3819 I know high flow has a few new colors. But I had been going to Micheals for years and never seen them till last year.

[@nbell63]

Apologies - did I miss the price comparison of the Vallejo?

[@turroluca]

nice vids, but you missed instant color from scale75

[@PrzybyszzMatplanety]

Scale75 Instant Colors are somewhat problematic, because - contrary to what Scale75 is advertising - they're not entirely designed to work in speedpainting like Contrasts/Speedpaints/Xpress.

[@DarrylAdams]

The lack of tartan paint still disapoints me

[@GeekEnglish]

The drying time is the worst part of speed paint in an otherwise fantastic product. Am I really "speed painting" if I am waiting for it to dry constantly

[@beckerdo]

I love the miniature painting hobby. However, the history of "contrast" paints goes back a lot farther than the Citadel line. People have been using alcohol and water based inks for decades. Dr. Ph. Marten's and Liquitex have some nice ink sets that are useful for minis.

[@Pharune616]

I love your videos, but I can't support AP after 1.0. Fool me once...